 
 CHAPTER 70--STRENGTHENING AND IMPROVEMENT OF ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY 
                                 SCHOOLS
 
                     SUBCHAPTER V--PROMOTING EQUITY
 
                    Part A--Magnet Schools Assistance
 
Sec. 7201. Findings

    The Congress finds that--
        (1) magnet schools are a significant part of our Nation's effort 
    to achieve voluntary desegregation in our Nation's schools;
        (2) the use of magnet schools has increased dramatically since 
    the date of enactment of the Magnet Schools Assistance program, with 
    approximately 1,400,000 students nationwide now attending such 
    schools, of which more than 60 percent of the students are nonwhite;
        (3) magnet schools offer a wide range of distinctive programs 
    that have served as models for school improvement efforts;
        (4) in administering the Magnet Schools Assistance program, the 
    Federal Government has learned that--
            (A) where magnet programs are implemented for only a portion 
        of a school's student body, special efforts must be made to 
        discourage the isolation of--
                (i) magnet school students from other students in the 
            school; and
                (ii) students by racial characteristics;

            (B) local educational agencies can maximize their 
        effectiveness in achieving the purposes of the Magnet Schools 
        Assistance program if such agencies have more flexibility in the 
        administration of such program in order to serve students 
        attending a school who are not enrolled in the magnet school 
        program;
            (C) local educational agencies must be creative in designing 
        magnet schools for students at all academic levels, so that 
        school districts do not skim off only the highest achieving 
        students to attend the magnet schools;
            (D) consistent with desegregation guidelines, local 
        educational agencies must seek to enable participation in magnet 
        school programs by students who reside in the neighborhoods 
        where the programs operate; and
            (E) in order to ensure that magnet schools are sustained 
        after Federal funding ends, the Federal Government must assist 
        school districts to improve their capacity to continue to 
        operate magnet schools at a high level of performance; and

        (5) it is in the best interest of the Federal Government to--
            (A) continue the Federal Government's support of school 
        districts implementing court-ordered desegregation plans and 
        school districts seeking to foster meaningful interaction among 
        students of different racial and ethnic backgrounds, beginning 
        at the earliest stage of such students' education;
            (B) ensure that all students have equitable access to 
        quality education that will prepare such students to function 
        well in a culturally diverse, technologically oriented, and 
        highly competitive, global community; and
            (C) maximize the ability of local educational agencies to 
        plan, develop, implement and continue effective and innovative 
        magnet schools that contribute to State and local systemic 
        reform.

(Pub. L. 89-10, title V, Sec. 5101, as added Pub. L. 103-382, title I, 
Sec. 101, Oct. 20, 1994, 108 Stat. 3690.)
